Director and producer Janina Manipol tells us about her two great loves: the art of videography and helping others
In the What Matters To Me series, a Generation T honouree describes what they do, why they do it, and why it matters.
Perhaps best known as a video producer with her own production company, Maldavar Films, Janina Manipol’s more recent venture is MySmile. Co-founded with dental hygienist Chiara Echiverri, the company provides teeth-whitening systems for use at home, with a portion of the sales supporting non-profit organisations that offer life-changing free surgery to children with a cleft lip or palate.
As a content creator and visual storyteller, Manipol strives to tell meaningful stories and help brands get their message out to the public in the most impactful manner possible. When not in the thick of producing videos, she spends her time giving back to less fortunate communities in the Philippines.
Here, Manipol shares how she stays inspired in her industry.
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been fascinated by the way that film and the arts make people feel, and how it can impact society. I didn’t exactly know which role in production I was going to be in at first but I always knew I loved every bit of it. I tried all sorts of roles: TV acting, commercial modelling, sound engineering and hosting. Now I work as a freelance advertising director and co-founded a production company called Maldavar Films with my fiancé Seb, who’s also a filmmaker.
Honestly... everything in the process of video production is challenging. From writing the story, creating the concept, producing the video and especially the post production part.
In MySmile, my partner Chiara and I both have very different backgrounds, but we joined forces to help make the world a better place by partnering with non-profit organisations that give free cleft lip and cleft palette surgeries to children in need. It’s one of our passions to support this single, solvable problem and it makes our heart full to see these kids with new smiles.
One of the things I learned about myself through my work with MySmile is that I like exploring new ideas and taking calculated risks. Something I learned is that if you’re consistent in your messaging, clear in your communication and authentic in your story, you’ll go a long way.
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